Nemesis
NemesisCbot's Twitter was the main antagonist for the first season of . He was the original mind of Julian Chase trapped in a Holon that was captured and heavily modified by the Union. He held a grudge against the Polity for its failure to save him and replacing his previous life with a copy of his mind created through gen:LOCK. After battling the gen:LOCK team several times, he was eventually killed by his copy. Like Chase, he was voiced by Michael B. Jordan. Appearance Nemesis was a humanoid mech with a primarily black color scheme with dark red highlights, matching the general color scheme for the rest of the Union. He was taller than any of the Holons developed by the Experimental Science Unit, standing at least a full head and torso above the standard model, and it is also noticeably slimmer. It had large, triangular shoulder pads, the left one bearing the Union's symbol and a single eye that glowed red. The most noticeable parts of Nemesis were its four arms, each ending in clawed fingertips. Nemesis could fold the rear pair of arms behind its back, and was capable of running in a quadrupedal manner using its legs and front pair of arms as well as climb walls. After the Battle of The Anvil, Nemesis underwent a substantial overhaul in terms of appearance. He wore heavier armor, making him appear much bulkier, and he had four long, spider-like legs attached to his back that he could walk on. Also on his back were three red thrusters, allowing Nemesis to fly. The red highlights in his armor appeared somewhat darker than before, almost crimson, and were also more prominent, making them stand out more against the black. He also had a retractable mouth plate. In the Mindscape, Nemesis' avatar bore the same general appearance as his original body. However, his skin was extremely pale, and his sclera was an unnatural black with red irises that have dark yellow outlines. His hair was black and neon red luminous streaks. The bodysuit he wore was a black and red version of Chase's, baring the Union's emblem on the chest. His body would often glitch and contort violently, and was occasionally shrouded by a swarm of red pixels. Personality The years spent trapped inside a Holon and the Union's tampering with his mind had severely damaged Nemesis' mental stability. He displayed extremely erratic, almost animalistic behavior and moved in an unnatural, unpredictable manner, often appearing slouched over and limp when first appearing before suddenly becoming bestial and aggressive. On occasion he would randomly say certain phrases and make contradictory statements, saying "hello" immediately followed by "goodbye". This, combined with his garbled, broken speech conveyed an extremely unstable psyche. Nemesis had an obsessive desire to kill his "copy", however he appeared to have a stronger primal, pathological desire to return to his human body or "get out" as he called it, as he proceeded to disengage from combat with Chase and rush at his original body in its tank upon seeing Kazu Iida and Caliban attempt to evacuate with it from the Anvil. Nemesis also had a somewhat sadistic and ironic sense of humor, as he taunted both Dr. Weller and Col. Marin upon his invasion of The Anvil, laughing before answering the Colonel's request to identify himself as "Who would you like it to be?". Nemesis believed that the Polity has forfeited their chance to save him and he even refused Doctor Weller's offer to help him, convinced that only the Union was capable of fixing him. Even so, Nemesis had no qualms attempting to rip the cyber brain out of Cameron MacCloud's Holon and deliver it to the Union, potentially dooming her to a similar fate. However, despite his crippled sanity, Nemesis still retained a substantial degree of his higher cognitive functioning, and was capable of philosophizing, pondering if a man can still call himself human if he cannot cry, sleep or dream, revealing himself to have likely undergone a complete existential crisis. This self-doubt may have been, in part at least, the driving force behind his desire to return to his body in spite of current state, for he was unable to even call himself a human being whilst trapped in a Holon. When Nemesis' memories were accessed, it was shown that many of them bear the Union symbol with the message that they have been redacted, revised or deleted, showing that Nemesis' mind and personality had been artificially altered by the Union, which is likely the cause of his erratic, twisted behavior and a large contributor to his descent into madness. Abilities Original Combat Nemesis posed a serious threat to the gen:LOCK team due to his durable frame and the use of his four arms. He effortlessly dispatches and nearly took the cyber brain of Cammie's Holon, and he was also initially capable of taking on Chase, Yasamin Madrani and Kazu - who are all seasoned military veterans - at the same time and still dominated much of the fight. After the gen:LOCK team rips off two of his limbs in Atlanta, his combat capability noticeably diminished, as Chase was able to go to toe-to-toe with him alone throughout the Battle of The Anvil. Nanotech Nemesis was capable of releasing Nanotech from his back and could use it to form a dome or barrier that blocks vision and communication. However, it did not act as a true physical barrier as both Holons and projectiles from energy rifles were able to move through the barrier with little resistance. Upgraded Combat In addition to possessing four arms like he did before getting upgraded, Nemesis could use his four spider-legs for powerful close combat attacks that overwhelmed even Kazu's armored Holon. Nemesis utilized his telescopic tentacles for maneuverability, striking and grabbing his opponents. Nemesis is proficient enough with his added flight capabilities that he was able to target and tackle Chase while flying at supersonic speed. Nemesis compliments his fight style by forming his Nanotech into additional or replacement components. Nemesis demonstrated the ability to from the Nanotech into long swords carried by two of his arms, which he is proficient enough to dual wield. He also used the Nanotech to form energy cannons on his arm. Nemesis was able to use the gen:LOCK team's private network to predict much of their attacks and movements, which they were only able to overcome with use of Mindshare. Nanotech The upgraded Nanotech used by Nemesis glows red with more visible particles and held many improved capabilities over the standard black smoke. Nemesis can form the Nanotech into additional or replacement components that connects to him, including limbs, swords, thicker armor and energy canons. The Nanotech could be quickly shaped for physical attack, as it was able to form into a giant hand that dragged a flying Hornbill and small amount of Nanotech was thrown to the head of Kazu's Holon to blind him. Defensive barriers could also be formed, with the smaller ones forming fast enough to react to and block bullets, but the barriers could be dispelled with sufficient force which was done by rockets from Chase's Holon and brute strength from Kazu's Holon. Nemesis could inject Nanotech into soil and have it unpredictably burst from the ground for attack and defense. The upgrade also patched out an exploit that allowed others to control the Nanotech, reducing the likelihood of it being hacked. Trivia *The story of Nemesis and Chase relates to the Ship of Theseus, an ancient thought experiment concerning the metaphysics of identity. In the experiment, the famous ship sailed by the hero Theseus has been kept in a harbor as a museum piece. As the years go by, some of the wooden parts begin to rot and are replaced by new ones. After a century or so, all of the parts have been replaced. The experiment asks if the "restored" ship is still the same object as the original. **An extension to this experiment supposes that the removed pieces are stored in a warehouse and, sometime after all the pieces have been replaced, the ability to stop/reverse the rot is developed. The pieces are then assembled into their previous configuration. It poses the question of which ship if either (or both?) can then be considered the original. *The word "nemesis" is a noun used to describe someone as "the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall." It is also commonly used as a synonym for "arch-enemy". However, "Nemesis" could also relate to the ancient Greek goddess of the same name, who enacts retribution against those who succumb to hubris. Her name is derived from the Greek word "Νέμεσις" meaning "to give what is due." References Category:Antagonists Category:Technology Category:Union Category:Deceased Characters